“For its very survival’s sake, America must re-examine old presuppositions and release itself from many things that for centuries have been held sacred. For the evils of racism, poverty and militarism to die, a new set of values must be born. Our economy must become more person centered than property- and profit centered. Our government must depend more on its moral power than on its military power.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The world is erupting – climate change, institutionalized racism, economic inequality, toxic masculinity, and the destructive ideology of white supremacy which is rapidly rolling back gains of civil rights advocates in multiple spheres. Folks of faith can no longer pray passively, hoping things improve, while sticking our heads down in bibles and looking away because it’s uncomfortable. Prayer demands an active partnership with God to birth change. How can we love God yet remain silent about the cruel treatment of the most marginalized among us – communities of color and immigrants, the differently abled (physical and mental challenges), women, folks of various gender and sexual identities, and the poor, many of whom experience intermittent homelessness, despite scraping together a living working multiple jobs. “Almost a third of U.S. workers (41.7 million people) now earn less than $12 an hour. Nearly half (58.3 million) earn less than $15 an hour, ” according to an article in Fast Company. Isolating ourselves means many continue to suffer alone, because we choose complacency over meaningful change and connection with the larger world. My friend Lenora quoted Rabbi Heschel on Instagram last year, and I couldn’t get what she said out of my mind – the importance of praying with our feet. And I began to looking into the story behind the phrase: “When Rabbi Heschel returned from Selma, he was asked by someone, ‘Did you find much time to pray, when you were in Selma?’ Rabbi Heschel responded, ‘I prayed with my feet.’ What was his point? That his marching, his protesting, his speaking out for Civil Rights was his greatest prayer of all.” As I continued contemplating the Rabbi’s words, it felt as if I found the faith I sought for so long, one rooted in a “radical revolution of values,” as Dr. King said towards the end of his life. I thought of Proverbs 31:8-9, which urges us to speak up for the poor, those who are judged unfairly. Then I began listening to and reading James Cone, who calls us towards black liberation theology which places the suffering Jesus endured in a wider context of oppression:
The Christian community, therefore, is that community that freely becomes oppressed, because they know that Jesus himself has defined humanity’s liberation in the context of what happens to the little ones. Christians join the cause of the oppressed in the fight for justice not because of some philosophical principle of “the Good” or because of a religious feeling of sympathy for people in prison. Sympathy does not change the structures of injustice. The authentic identity of Christians with the poor is found in the claim which the Jesus-encounter lays upon their own life-style, a claim that connects the word “Christian” with the liberation of the poor. Christians fight not for humanity in general but for themselves and out of their love for concrete human beings. – God of the Oppressed There are too many folks within churches clinging to a false narrative of color blindness (differences don’t have to divide us), bristling at the mention of #BlackLivesMatter (or the affirmation of any other marginalized group), while ignoring Trump’s abhorrent treatment of women and anyone else who differs from him, simply because he self identifies as a Christian. “Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.” – Zephaniah 3:10 Praying with our feet means consistently coming off our knees and into the world, sharing Christ’s radical love with everyone, sharing the message of salvation and hope, and examining our own motives daily: Are we uplifting the status quo or disrupting it as Jesus did throughout his time on earth? What matters more – your comfort or commitment to creating a world of light, beauty and justice? Will you pray passively or in the spirit of transformation? Learn more about Faith & Activism Here: Sojourners (magazine and community for folks of faith who want to make a difference) Emelda is a loving wife, mama, creative, and believer seeking God anew in each moment. Although based in Baltimore, this daughter of a Honduran immigrant feels at home throughout the world. She serves as founder of Women Creatives Chat, a community dedicated to empowering all creative women through events (both online and live, including bi-monthly chats for creatives, a quarterly book chat series on Instagram featuring writers from the WCC community, and a Facebook Live Show), workshops and daily doses of inspiration on Instagram and Facebook. She is co-founder of Cocktails and Creatives Events which connects women artists with the larger community through live and virtual gatherings. She blogs at Live In Color, about faith, activism and motherhood (which is soon becoming Pray With Our Feet), is a columnist for BSM Magazine, and contributing writer for the Pretty Entrepreneur blog (a community which empowers women of color in business).
Photo credit: James Motter
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